Throttle-controlling means for internal-combustion engines



Jan. 4, 1927. ,613,197

E. A. ROBB THROTTLE CONTROLLING MEANS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES I Filed April 6. 1926 2 Sheets$heet l Jan. 4,1927.

E. A. ROBB v THROTTLE CONTROLLING MEANS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed April 6, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

-UNITED STATES PAIENT OFFICE.

EDWARD A. ROBB, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

a'nnozr rLn-con'rnorrme MEANS FOR mrmmsn-oomsusmon' enemas.

This invention relates to means for regulatingthe feed of fuel to the motor of a motor driven vehicle and particularly to devices of this general character in which a governor is used which maintains or tends to maintain a certain uniform speed.

One of the objectsof this invention is to provide a device of this characterwhich will automatically regulate the feed of fuel 7 to the engine and cause the motor to maing changes in their general construction, which is so formed that the flow of fuel at all speeds of the engine will be subject to a dual control, that is, to the control operated by the driver and to a control operated by the speed of the motor, and in this connection to provide a mechanism of this character which will operate Without interfering with the ,direct connection between the, drivers control and the carbureter and which will not reduce the promptness with which the motor operates in response to that control.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of this character which will cause the power of the motor driven vehicle to increase automatically, regardless of the speed of the motor when a hill is approached, when the Vehicle is going up a hill, and to cause the power of the motor to decrease when the vehicle reaches the top of the hill.

A further object is to provide a con-. trolling mechanism which will ellminate much of the manipulation of the hand throttle or of the accelerator by the driver and thus make the driving of the vehicle much simpler.

A still further object of the invention is to provide throttle valve controlling means which will'permit the throttle valve to be set by the driver by the usual operating lever on the wheel to thus determine the speed and Which will then operate to maintain or tend to maintain this speed on dif- Applieation filed April 6, 1926. Serial No. 100,134.

'ferent. grades, permitting, however, the instant operation of the operating lever or the instant opening of the throttle under the action of the accelerator pedal.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure I'is a top plan view of my invention showing the same connected with a throttle and also illustrating the fan of an internal combustion engine;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the cylinder 16 and the supporting frame;

' 3 is a sectional View on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 5;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the cylinder and allied parts;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged top plan view of the throttle controlling levers.

Referring to these drawings it will be seen that my device comprises a supporting frame having a base designated 10 and having upwardlyextending portions 11* and 12. This base, as illustrated in Figure 2, is transversely concave whereby the frame may be disposed on top of the generator G, as for instance the generator of a Ford pulley 14 which is connected by a'belt to the usual fan shaft of an automobile and which is disposed just behind the fan bracket. The upright portion 12 of the frame is formed to provide a collar 15 and sliding within this collar is a hollow cylinder 16. This cylinder at one end is formed with a head-17 having acentralaperture and operating through this aperture of the cylinder is a shaft-18 and disposed on the; inner end of this shaft and bearing against the head 17 is a disk 19 which is rotatable with the shaft 18. This constitutes a swivel connection between the shaft 18 and the cylinder 16 which perm-its the shaft 18 to rotate relative to the cylinder but which causes the cylinder 16 to move longitudinally with the shaft 18.

Pivotally connected to the shaft 18 are the links or arms 20 of the governor and pivotally connected to these links or arms 20 ,are the links or arms 21 of the governor which in turn are ivotally connected to the inner end of the s iaft 13. Thus, it will be seen that as the shaft 13 rotates, the governor will be rotated and the shaft 18 and perforated for the passage of headed bolts.

or screw-threaded rods 26 having thereon the nuts 27. Disposed between the angular ends 24 of the arms 23 and these nuts 27 are the coil compression springs 28. Thus when the cylinder 16 is pulled toward the forward end of the machine by the expansion of the governor arms 20, the arms 23 will move with the cylinder against the action of the springs 28, and as the speed is reduced and the centrifugal force is correspondingly reduced, the springs 28 act to push against the arms 23 and force the cylinder 16 rearward or away from the front of the machine.

In Figure 4 I have shown and illustrated a conventional carbureter designated enerally C.- This carbureter has a stem can a throttle valve D mounted upon the stem and rotating therewith from a full closed to a fully opened position. Rigldly mounted upon this stem 0 is a lever 29 and one portion of this lever is reduced in thickness as at 30, and mounted upon this reduced portion is a slide 31. This slide has an angularly and laterally projecting arm 32 provided at its extremity with the pin 33 and this arm operates within a slot 34 formed in one arm of the lever 35, this lever being loosely mounted for oscillation upon the stem 0. Theopposite end ofthis lever is adapted to 1 be connected to a rod 36 which is operatively connected to the throttle controlling lever on the steering wheel of the automobile and operatively connected to the accelerator pedal in an obvious manner, such, for instance, as shown in Figure 1.

Pivotally connected to the slide 31 is a link or rod 37 which extends. forward and is pivotally connected to the stem 38 extending outward from the cyllnder and more specifv ically frointhe member 22. Under these circumstances it will be seen that, assuming that the lever 35 has-been set in a predetermined position by the rod 36 leading from the hand throttle controlling means, when the governor is expanded under an increase in speed the cylinder 1.6 will be pulled forward and this will pull upon the link 38 and will cause the slide 31 to be shifted toward amount of slide 31 is drawn toward the stem it will wedge against the lever 35 and shift the lever 30 in a clockwise direction, thus turning the throttle valve nearer to its .fully closed position, or in other words reducing the fuel which is discharged through the throttle valve to the engine and again, that as the speed decreases, the cylinder 16 will move rearward under the action of the springs 28 and this will push upon the link 37 and push the slide 31- toward the extremity of the portion 30 of the lever 29 and this will draw the lever 29 toward a position parallel to the lever 35 thus opening the throttle valve and allowing a greater amount of fuel to pass to the engine.

It will be plain from Figure 1 that at any position of the slide 31, movement may be comunicated to the lever 29 and to the throttle, to close or open the throttle, by shifting the rod 36 either through the action of the hand lever L on the wheel or through the action of the accelerator pedal P. If the rod 36 be shifted by the action of the hand lever on the wheel, the lever 29 will be shifted accordingly. If, on the other hand, the rod 36 is shifted by the action of the accelerator pedal, the accelerator pedal when it returns to its normal position will return the lever 35 to the positlon at which it was before the accelerator pedal was operated and thus the lever 35 and the lever 29 will both be returned to their normal positions.

It is to be particularly noted that the operation of the lever '35 by the accelerator pedal or by the hand controlled lever on the wheel does not in any wa affect the position of the slide 31 and thus does not in' any way affect the governor. Thus the lever 35 may be set to cause the predetermined opening of the throttle valve and then the governor will operate to decrease the amount of fuel passing to the engine when the speed rises above thispoint and thus maintains a more or less constant speed, and increase the amount of fuel passing to the engine when, for instance, the speed of the vehicle is deirflased owing to its reaching the foot of a It will be seen that the mechanism which I have illustrated and described acts toautomatically regulate the feed of fuel to the engine while permitting the instant regulation of the throttle by means of the hand throttle control or the foot operated accclerator and that this mechanism causes the motor to maintain or tend to maintain a uniformity of speed over differences .in the grade of the roadway without necessitating any movement of the hand throttle control or the accelerator, the rate of speed, of

course, being governed by the position of 'ment thereof. It will further be seen that tion of the governor. It is pointed out that the flow of fuel to the engine is subjected at all speeds to a dual control, namely, the control operated by the driver either through the accelerator 'pedal or the throttle controlling lever and the control operated bv the speed of the motor and that these two instrumentalities do not interfere in any way with each other and that the governor control does not interfere in any degree with the direct connection" between the control operated by the driver and. the carbureter and does not change in any way the quickness of response of the motor to that ontrol.

Furthermore, my invention provides means for automatically increasing the owcr of the motor driven vehicle regardess of its speed when a hill is approached, when the vehicle is going up the hill and causes a corresponding decrease in the power of the motor by cutting down the flow of fuel when the vehicle reaches the top of the hill. 7

This device eliminates much of the manipulation by the driver of the throttle controlling lever on the Wheel and of the accelerator, thus making the driving of the vehicle much simpler, and the device has the further advantage that it economizes in gasoline. I

It will be'seen that in this mechanism the result of the automatic action of the governor is that the throttle is retarded to some extent by each increase inspeed, held in that position until the motor starts to slow down, and is then retarded less, thus causing a greater feed of fuel. My mechanism is not one of those which is put into operation only after a certain speed of the engine has been reached but my mechanism operates under all speeds and under all speeds cooperates with the hand or driver control.

Furthermore, it will be noted that with my mechanism the drivers control does not depend upon any change in the tension of the spring but that the drivers control is positively connected at all times with the throttle valve lever so as to secure an instantaneous change in position of the throttle valve at the will of the driver and while the vehicle is at full speed or at any other speed. The compression springsof my mechanism may be readily adjusted at any time. The governor mechanism in my case operates in a frame disposed at the side of the engine. This mechanism pulls toward the front of the machine and thus permits the application of the governor to the usual levers connected to the throttle. I have provided a very simple and practical means of'transmitting action of the centrifugal governor to the throttle valve, however, retaining the control of the throttle valve at all times and under all speeds by means of the hand throttle lever or accelerator operating independently of the acly connectmg In my construction the adjustment of the manually controlled lever L or the accelerator pedal P-has no effect on the governor because the link 37 is pivotally connected to the rod 38 and the movement of link 37 when rod 36 is shifted is transverse tothe line of hill on rod 38. The throttle may thus be set by hand without shifting the governor arms or shifting the cylinder 16. On the other hand, the slightest moveme t of the governor arms affects the position of hethrott-l'e valve by changing the position of the freely oscillatable throttle lever 29 with reference to the previously set and therefore, relatively fixed lever 35.

lVhile I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangement of parts which I tive in limited thereto as many changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. The combination with the fuel controlling means of an internal combustion engine and manually controllable means for setting said fuel controlling means to deliver adefinite su ply of fuel to thus attain a definite spee of a shiftable mem-' ber positively connected to the fuel con.-

have found to be particularly efi'ec actual practice, I do not wish to be trolling means, a second shiftable memher, a speed responsive element operativeboth of said members for simultaneous movement in the same direction to open or close the fuel controlling means but shiftable under the action of the speed responsive element to shiftthe first named member relative to the secondnamed manually set member.

2. The combination with the fuel controlling means of an internal combustion engine and manually controlled means for setting'said fuel controlling means to deliver a definite supply of fuel to thus obtain a definite speed, of a shiftable member positively connected to the fuel controlling means to move therewith, a shiftable member opcratively connected to the manually controlled means to be shifted thereby, a shiftable element mounted upon one of said members for shifting movement and slidably engaged with the other of said members and varying the position of said members relative to each other when the element is shifted, and a governor operatively connected to said element and driven by the engine, the governor acting to maintain the speed of the engine constant under variations of load said governor being entirely unaffected by any movement of the manuallly controlled means.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the throttle valve of an internal combustion engine, manually operative adjustin means therefor, and-a speed controlled a usting means therefor, of a member positively connected to the throttle valve for movement therewith, a second member connected to the manually adjustable means and adjustable to a set osition, and a thlrd shiftable member positively connecting the first and second members forunitary movement in the same direction and operatively connected to the s eed responsive element to be shifted there y andwhen shifted by the speed res onsive element in one direction or the other shifting the first and second named members toward or from each other.

4. The combination with the throttle valve of an internal combustion engine and manually controlled means for setting. said throttle valve to deliver a definite supply of fuel to thus obtain a definite speed, of a lever positively connected to the stem of the throttle valve to oscillate therewith, a second lever loosely mounted upon the stem of the throttle valve, a sliding member mounted upon one of said levers and having sliding engagement with the other lever and shiftable along the first named lever to thereby vary the positions of said levers relative to each other, the second named lever being operatively connected to the manually controlled means to be shifted thereby, and a centrifugal governor driven by the engine and operatively connected to said slide to shift the same along the lever on which the slide is mounted 5. The combination with the throttle valve of an internal combustion engine and manually controlled means for setting said throt- 1 tle valve to deliver a definite supply of fuel to the engine to thus obtain a de nite speed thereof, of a lever mounted upon the stem of the throttle valve to oscillate therewith, a second lever loosely mounted upon the stem of the throttle valve and extendin at all. times in angular relation to the rst named lever, the second 'named lever at one end being operatively connected to the manually controlled means, a slide mounted upon the first named lever and having an arm having sliding engagement wi h the second named lever whereby to cause relative movement of the two levers as the slide is shifted upon its lever, and an engine driven governor operatively connected to said slide.

6. The combination with the throttle Valve of an internal combustion engine, manually operable adjusting means therefor and a speed controlled adjusting means therefor, of a member positively connected to the throttle valve for oscillative movementtherewith, a second member operatively connected to the manually adjustable means and adjustable to a set posit-ion around a center, and a third shiftable member positively connecting the first and second members for unitary oscillative movement in the same ernor operated from the engine,'a longitudinally movable cylinder, a shaft rotatable with the governor and longitudinally movable thereby and having swiveled engagement with the c linder; a support through which said cylin er operates, rods. extending from said support toward the governor, arms mounted upon the cylinder and having apertures through which said rods pass, springs surrounding said rods and bearing against said arms and resisting longitudinal movement of the cylinder in one direction under the action of the governor.

8. In an internal combustion engine, a throttle valve, and means for controllin said throttle valve including a centrifugal governor, means for driving the governor from the engine, a longitudinally movable cylinder-having a centrally apertured head at one end, a shaft rotatable with the governor and longitudinally movable thereby, said shaft extending through the aperture in the head of the cylinder and having a head bearing against the inside face of the cylinder head but rotatable within the cylinder, the outward movement of the governor under centrifugal action acting to shift the cylinder toward the governor, a bearing member within which the cylinder is supported for longitudinal movement and having outwardly projecting lugs, longitudinally extending rods mounted upon said lugs, arms earned by the cylinder and extending parallel thereto and having inturned perforated ends through which'said rods pass, and springs carried by said rods and bearing against the inturned extremities of the arms and resisting movement of the cylinder toward the governor.

9. In a motor vehicle having a fan shaft and a throttle valve, means for controlling the position of the throttle valve comprising a support mounted upon the vehicle at one side of and parallel to the engine, a shaft mounted at one end of the support and carrying a pulley, means operatively connecting the pulley to the fan shaft of the en gine, a second shaft mounted at the other end of the shaft for rotatable and longitudinal movement, a centrifugal governor disposed between and operatively connected to both of said shafts, a cylinder mounted upon ,said support for longitudinal movement, the

second named shaft having swiveled engagc ment with the cylinder and acting to shift the cylinder toward the governor upon the outward movement of the governor under centrifugal force, springs resisting move ment of the cylinder toward the overnor, and operative connections from said cylinder to the throttle valve including a lever mounted upon the stem of the throttle valve for oscillation therewith, a slide mounted upon the lever and having a laterally rojectln arm, a connection from the cylin er to sai slide, a second lever mounted loosely upon the stem of the throttle valve and dis osed in angular relation to the first named ever, the laterally projecting arm of the slide having sliding engagement with the second named lever, and manually operable meansfor adjusting the second named lever.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

' EDWARD A. ROBB. 

